14/12/2017

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0:00:15 > 0:00:19As we seek each other's help and resolve, to build on our hopes for

0:00:19 > 0:00:22the future in which the tragedy that struck Grenfell Tower will never

0:00:22 > 0:00:24happen again.

0:00:24 > 0:00:26Tonight, an emotional service at St Paul's to remember

0:00:26 > 0:00:27Grenfell six months on.

0:00:27 > 0:00:30We'll speak to one of those who escaped the blaze that night.

0:00:30 > 0:00:33And we spend time at a school in the shadow of the tower

0:00:33 > 0:00:38to find out how staff and students are coping.

0:00:38 > 0:00:40I've had children during my PE lessons saying,

0:00:40 > 0:00:44"Oh, look, that's where my bedroom was".

0:00:44 > 0:00:46It's in their view at playtime.

0:00:46 > 0:00:49The one time that they are meant to be coming out to play,

0:00:49 > 0:00:51there's a juxtaposition there, because we've got the

0:00:51 > 0:00:55tower being a shadow.

0:00:55 > 0:00:57We'll ask a leading child psychologist just

0:00:57 > 0:00:59what can be done to help.

0:00:59 > 0:01:00Also tonight:

0:01:00 > 0:01:02A warning about bitcoin from one of Britain's top

0:01:02 > 0:01:05financial regulators.

0:01:05 > 0:01:15"Don't buy it", he says, "unless you're prepared to lose your shirt".

0:01:16 > 0:01:21If you want to invest in bitcoin, be prepared to lose all your money,

0:01:21 > 0:01:23that would be my serious warning.

0:01:23 > 0:01:25And is a white journalist asking a black journalist for contacts,

0:01:25 > 0:01:27quotes or information simply "good research"?

0:01:27 > 0:01:29Or is it the culturally inappropriate theft

0:01:29 > 0:01:31of intellectual property?

0:01:36 > 0:01:39They came to St Paul's Cathedral, 1500 people of all faiths

0:01:39 > 0:01:42and none, to remember.

0:01:42 > 0:01:46Six months ago, 71 people died in Grenfell Tower,

0:01:46 > 0:01:51an event that shocked so many not simply because of the horror

0:01:51 > 0:01:54but because of what it revealed about how many people live

0:01:54 > 0:01:57today in this rich country, seemingly out of sight and out

0:01:57 > 0:02:00of hearing of so many of us.

0:02:00 > 0:02:03Joined by members of the royal family and the Prime Minister,

0:02:03 > 0:02:05survivors and the family and friends of those who died honoured loved

0:02:05 > 0:02:07ones and gave thanks to the emergency services

0:02:07 > 0:02:17who risked their lives on that fateful June night.

0:02:18 > 0:02:21We pray for those who have offered their support,

0:02:21 > 0:02:28for all who sustain us with their care and friendship.

0:02:31 > 0:02:40So now, together, we remember and reflect.

0:02:44 > 0:02:45# Insha Allah, insha Allah

0:02:45 > 0:02:52# You'll find your way.#

0:02:52 > 0:02:55For a moment, we all lost our fear of each other.

0:02:55 > 0:02:58We lost our obsession with ourselves, and we reached out

0:02:58 > 0:03:03across the city in love for our neighbour.

0:03:03 > 0:03:07# Every time you take one look around,

0:03:07 > 0:03:15# You then remember that they're really gone.#

0:03:15 > 0:03:18With me now is Mohammed Rasoul who escaped from the fifth floor

0:03:18 > 0:03:22of Grenfell tower with his wife, father and two young children.

0:03:22 > 0:03:29He was at the service today.

0:03:29 > 0:03:34Thanks very much for joining us. A difficult day, I am sure, but maybe

0:03:34 > 0:03:41uplifting in some senses.Most definitely. It was a very emotional

0:03:41 > 0:03:48day but at the same time deeply meaningful. It was a day we came

0:03:48 > 0:03:52together as a local community and as a nation, to remember those we lost

0:03:52 > 0:04:01in that tragic fire, who were victims of a gross injustice. To see

0:04:01 > 0:04:11people turn up today from our local community, all around the country,

0:04:11 > 0:04:15our country's leaders, it was deeply significant. And to have it in such

0:04:15 > 0:04:22an iconic national landmark, to me, shows that when that fire happened

0:04:22 > 0:04:26and those people lost their lives, innocent people lost their lives,

0:04:26 > 0:04:32men, women and children, that the country felt our pain and felt the

0:04:32 > 0:04:36pain of everyone who was bereaved, and felt the pain of the survivors

0:04:36 > 0:04:46and the whole community.There has obviously been a lot of mistrust. Do

0:04:46 > 0:04:55you feel that an event like today helped start to build some trust

0:04:55 > 0:04:58between the different groups? The Prime Minister was there,

0:04:58 > 0:05:01representatives of those in authority. Is there a way of this

0:05:01 > 0:05:06being at least part of some of the healing process and building some

0:05:06 > 0:05:13trust?Well, we are hopeful of that, but there is still a long way to go.

0:05:13 > 0:05:17You still have four out of five families, survivors, still not

0:05:17 > 0:05:25re-homed. You have some people that arboretum that are still waiting to

0:05:25 > 0:05:33bury their loved ones. But we are hopeful -- some people that are

0:05:33 > 0:05:37bereaved are still waiting to bury their loved ones. But we are hopeful

0:05:37 > 0:05:40that the Prime Minister and others will listen to our concerns and

0:05:40 > 0:05:43amend the mistakes of the establishment, the system that

0:05:43 > 0:05:47failed those people and caused them to die. There is a petition going on

0:05:47 > 0:05:52at the moment which was presented to the Prime Minister, and we are

0:05:52 > 0:05:55optimistic that she will consider and pay attention to the voices of

0:05:55 > 0:06:01the bereaved and survivors, and allow their to be a panel of experts

0:06:01 > 0:06:08alongside the judge that will report back to her.What is your situation?

0:06:08 > 0:06:12I know you have been rehoused in a hotel and moved at least once. Where

0:06:12 > 0:06:19are you living now?In a family with -- in a hotel with my family, my

0:06:19 > 0:06:2386-year-old father, the oldest surviving resident, my wife and two

0:06:23 > 0:06:28children. My son is five and a half, and my daughter just turned two at

0:06:28 > 0:06:33the beginning of this month. She has spent a court of her life in hotels.

0:06:33 > 0:06:41What do you feel about the fact that you are still in a hotel six months

0:06:41 > 0:06:44on?I try not to think about it. If I let concepts like that... If I

0:06:44 > 0:06:51internalised it too much, I believe I will break down. I just get on

0:06:51 > 0:06:56with my daily life. I go off to work, soldier on. My family and my

0:06:56 > 0:07:02wife is a big support in that.You have touched on the enquiry, do you

0:07:02 > 0:07:06think it is moving quickly enough, and do you think it will ultimately

0:07:06 > 0:07:11answer all the questions you have?I think it is early days but we are

0:07:11 > 0:07:18hopeful. I think our community recovered from what happened, and

0:07:18 > 0:07:23because of the neglect we were shown before the fire, the blatant

0:07:23 > 0:07:26disregard and indifference from the council's side to residents concerns

0:07:26 > 0:07:31about health and say the, to the refurbishment, the community and

0:07:31 > 0:07:36people lost a lot of faith in the justice system. But it's never too

0:07:36 > 0:07:40late to build bridges, and it's never too late for myself or anyone

0:07:40 > 0:07:44from the community to be proven wrong. I am hopeful that, I try to

0:07:44 > 0:07:51be optimistic. And today was a day of immensely deep sadness, but with

0:07:51 > 0:07:55everything that has gone on in the last six months, the public response

0:07:55 > 0:08:01has been amazing and deeply moving at times. We have witnessed beauty

0:08:01 > 0:08:06that has moved us to tears, people from all around the country,

0:08:06 > 0:08:10different backgrounds, different ethnicities, with their differences,

0:08:10 > 0:08:14coming to help us and transcending their differences and coming to help

0:08:14 > 0:08:20us and offer us clothes and food and opening up their hearts and their

0:08:20 > 0:08:26homes to us. That has renewed my confidence in humanity. So for me,

0:08:26 > 0:08:31there is a lot of hope there, a lot of hope.Thank you so much for

0:08:31 > 0:08:35coming and sharing your thoughts. Hopefully that hope will be

0:08:35 > 0:08:40rewarded. Thank you very much.

0:08:40 > 0:08:43On the morning of the tragedy, Oxford Gardens Primary School, just

0:08:43 > 0:08:45half a mile from Grenfell Tower, opened its gates not

0:08:45 > 0:08:46knowing what to expect.

0:08:46 > 0:08:48The school wanted to offer sanctuary to children who might

0:08:48 > 0:08:50have lost everything.

0:08:50 > 0:08:53It later emerged that a third of the children at the school had

0:08:53 > 0:08:55witnessed the fire or been evacuated, some had lost

0:08:55 > 0:08:57friends or relatives or knew people in hospital.

0:08:57 > 0:09:00And, though it couldn't be officially confirmed for weeks, one

0:09:00 > 0:09:02of the school's own eight-year-old pupils died that night

0:09:02 > 0:09:05with his family.

0:09:05 > 0:09:07For the last six months, staff have been much more

0:09:07 > 0:09:10than everyday teachers.

0:09:10 > 0:09:12They've had to counsel children through their grief,

0:09:12 > 0:09:15while also dealing with their own.

0:09:15 > 0:09:17And all in the shadow of the burnt out shell

0:09:17 > 0:09:21that is all that is left of Grenfell Tower.

0:09:21 > 0:09:27Last week, Newsnight spent time at Oxford Gardens Primary School.

0:09:40 > 0:09:43I am from this community, I am born and bred from this community.

0:09:43 > 0:09:46It is a very warm community, it is a very diverse community.

0:09:46 > 0:09:50I love the energy, I love the enthusiasm.

0:09:50 > 0:09:52It is a little different from most areas.

0:09:52 > 0:09:56We have got politicians living right beside immigrants,

0:09:56 > 0:09:58David Cameron lives across the road for example, so such

0:09:58 > 0:10:02a melting pot of different personalities and cultures.

0:10:02 > 0:10:06I definitely think that this school is a microscopic look at the larger

0:10:06 > 0:10:13community that we are surrounded by.

0:10:24 > 0:10:27At 6am I made a phone call to my headteacher to say it looks

0:10:27 > 0:10:32like there is a very serious incident on our doorsteps.

0:10:32 > 0:10:36They never teach you how to deal with these things and I just

0:10:36 > 0:10:44remember just looking at it and not believing what I was seeing at all.

0:10:49 > 0:10:54I have never seen so much stuff all over the school.

0:10:54 > 0:10:56These grounds, all the three playgrounds, they were just

0:10:56 > 0:10:57covered everywhere.

0:10:57 > 0:11:00Black ash, chunks of it.

0:11:00 > 0:11:04And I just thought, how are we going to clear this up?

0:11:04 > 0:11:10My first thoughts were with my friends that were in the tower

0:11:10 > 0:11:13and then it dawned on me the children that we

0:11:13 > 0:11:17teach at school.

0:11:21 > 0:11:23We decided that we wanted to open.

0:11:23 > 0:11:27We knew that this terrible, terrible, tragic disaster had

0:11:27 > 0:11:31happened and we wanted to make sure that the school was a safe place

0:11:31 > 0:11:36for children to come if they were able to.

0:11:36 > 0:11:39We were very aware that we would have a lot of children

0:11:39 > 0:11:42who would not be able to come.

0:11:57 > 0:12:05This was done after we found out Mehdi had passed away.

0:12:05 > 0:12:08Some children wanted to say goodbye, other children just wanted to write

0:12:08 > 0:12:12as though he was still here.

0:12:12 > 0:12:15We had lost somebody, he was a member of our class

0:12:15 > 0:12:18who was there all year, he was a beautiful, lovely boy.

0:12:18 > 0:12:22He was there one day and he was gone the next.

0:12:22 > 0:12:26Having to explain to a class of children that somebody has died

0:12:26 > 0:12:34and in quite a horrific way was very sad and quite traumatic.

0:12:36 > 0:12:39There is a sense of shock and disbelief, there is a sense

0:12:39 > 0:12:40of anger and outrage.

0:12:40 > 0:12:43There is the loss, the anxiety.

0:12:43 > 0:12:45You cannot underestimate the enormity, I think,

0:12:45 > 0:12:49for a child to go to sleep and come in the next day and a whole

0:12:49 > 0:12:52family has been wiped out.

0:12:56 > 0:12:59I would say it has been very tough professionally.

0:12:59 > 0:13:06At times I felt like a counsellor, not just a teacher.

0:13:06 > 0:13:08I have had to drop particular sessions to talk about how

0:13:08 > 0:13:15they are feeling, how we should deal with our emotions.

0:13:15 > 0:13:17Some of the questions they had were truly horrific.

0:13:17 > 0:13:18How could this happen?

0:13:18 > 0:13:19Why has it happened?

0:13:19 > 0:13:21How did some people get out and he didn't?

0:13:21 > 0:13:26Really tricky questions and I don't have all the answers.

0:13:33 > 0:13:36I have had children during my PE lesson saying, "Look,

0:13:36 > 0:13:39that is where my bedroom was."

0:13:39 > 0:13:41It is in their view at playtime.

0:13:41 > 0:13:44The one time they come out to play there is a juxtaposition

0:13:44 > 0:13:47there because we have got the tower and we are in the shadow.

0:13:47 > 0:13:50Move your feet quickly.

0:13:50 > 0:13:55Stop!

0:13:55 > 0:13:58We have had children saying they wished they were in

0:13:58 > 0:13:59the tower rather than Mehdi.

0:13:59 > 0:14:04And when a child says that to you what can you say?

0:14:10 > 0:14:13Do you know what you are going to do tomorrow?

0:14:13 > 0:14:15I knew you would be happy.

0:14:15 > 0:14:20There are lots of different ways that children want

0:14:20 > 0:14:20to share their story.

0:14:20 > 0:14:24I have had children who want to draw the tower again and again and again.

0:14:24 > 0:14:26What they saw that night, what they felt that night.

0:14:26 > 0:14:29I have got children who wanted to make the tower, I have got

0:14:29 > 0:14:32children who wanted to decorate the tower with beautiful stars

0:14:32 > 0:14:35and to shroud it in something lovely because it is so ugly for them

0:14:35 > 0:14:36at the moment.

0:14:36 > 0:14:39I have had people wanting to be firefighters and save

0:14:39 > 0:14:40the people in the tower.

0:14:40 > 0:14:43Everybody's story is so different and everybody needs a different

0:14:43 > 0:14:46kind of way through.

0:14:46 > 0:14:50What shall we put there?

0:14:51 > 0:14:54It is a huge thing to take in for an adult, let alone a child,

0:14:54 > 0:14:57but I do feel like they have been amazing at handling it.

0:14:57 > 0:14:59They have given me strength because they have just been

0:14:59 > 0:15:09so honest and they have just been themselves.

0:15:16 > 0:15:20Morning, boys, morning.

0:15:20 > 0:15:23Six months on it is still fresh because families

0:15:23 > 0:15:26still talk about it.

0:15:26 > 0:15:28There are still some who haven't been re-homed yet,

0:15:28 > 0:15:31they are still in hotels.

0:15:31 > 0:15:33Cabs every day coming to school.

0:15:33 > 0:15:36I never imagined that when Christmas came we would still have

0:15:36 > 0:15:39families who were displaced.

0:15:39 > 0:15:45We had no idea that it was going to really impact for this long.

0:15:45 > 0:15:48We have a lot of children in this year group who were not only

0:15:48 > 0:15:51there and saw it but were evacuated and are still in

0:15:51 > 0:15:54temporary accommodation.

0:15:54 > 0:15:57That is just a constant reminder of what has happened to them.

0:15:57 > 0:16:03Their routine has been spoiled for six months.

0:16:03 > 0:16:08In counselling what we want to do first of all is make sure that

0:16:08 > 0:16:10people's basic needs are met, so to try and work with their

0:16:10 > 0:16:13well-being and emotional health when they still don't have a home

0:16:13 > 0:16:20I think is really hard.

0:16:20 > 0:16:24It is only natural that people want to understand why it happened.

0:16:24 > 0:16:34Why in 2017 a modern tower block can burn from bottom to top.

0:16:34 > 0:16:39It has been the most traumatic event that our community has had to deal

0:16:39 > 0:16:46with and it is really just relief now.

0:16:46 > 0:16:48For us it is about bringing our community back,

0:16:48 > 0:16:52uplifting people's spirits, and we owe that to the

0:16:52 > 0:16:56families that we lost.

0:16:56 > 0:16:59The things that they have written in here really show how

0:16:59 > 0:17:04they are feeling about it.

0:17:04 > 0:17:08It makes you remember that, well, not that we don't already know it,

0:17:08 > 0:17:12but we have got a long way to go, we know that.

0:17:12 > 0:17:15And we will get there.

0:17:15 > 0:17:19Through all this terrible mess and all this sadness we are looking

0:17:19 > 0:17:23at how strong we are now.

0:17:23 > 0:17:25People have stood together and people have united

0:17:25 > 0:17:31and that is how we move forward.

0:17:31 > 0:17:34We all share this grief and it is a little bit

0:17:34 > 0:17:37like losing a family member.

0:17:37 > 0:17:41I think it is hard for people to understand that you were with them

0:17:41 > 0:17:449 to 3:30 every day.

0:17:44 > 0:17:48He was a beautiful member of our class and we do miss him,

0:17:48 > 0:17:52we miss him every day, we do.

0:17:52 > 0:18:01We should not be saying goodbye because he should still be here.

0:18:03 > 0:18:05Oxford Gardens school, six months on.

0:18:05 > 0:18:08And our thanks to their staff and students for helping us make

0:18:08 > 0:18:11that piece by Sara Moralioglu and Katie Razzall.

0:18:11 > 0:18:14Well, dealing with a community-wide emergency of this scale demands

0:18:14 > 0:18:17a huge amount of those involved.

0:18:17 > 0:18:20With me now is Laverne Antrobus, a child psychologist

0:18:20 > 0:18:24from the Tavistock Clinic who offered support to some

0:18:24 > 0:18:31of the first people to respond to events that night.

0:18:31 > 0:18:37Thank you very much for joining us. What is remarkable that comes out

0:18:37 > 0:18:42from the film we have just seen that teachers changed literally overnight

0:18:42 > 0:18:46from worrying about the everyday things they are teaching like maths

0:18:46 > 0:18:51and PE kits who suddenly caring about the emotional well-being of

0:18:51 > 0:18:55the children they were looking after and teaching. What kind of advice do

0:18:55 > 0:19:02you give to people in that type of situation?As you say it was very

0:19:02 > 0:19:06complicated. It was unprecedented and it was an event nobody could

0:19:06 > 0:19:11imagine happening. What the teachers were saying was they had to change,

0:19:11 > 0:19:14they had to start responding to the needs of the children and I think

0:19:14 > 0:19:20that is exactly what you would want. Children have lots of questions but

0:19:20 > 0:19:23I think as adults we can imagine that we have got to give them much

0:19:23 > 0:19:28more information than they are seeking. It sounds to me as if the

0:19:28 > 0:19:33teachers in the school were able to take their time, slow things down.

0:19:33 > 0:19:38We know clear facts about what has happened, so there are some things

0:19:38 > 0:19:41children are able to answer themselves, but I am never so sure

0:19:41 > 0:19:46we need to go into a huge amount of detail. We need to listen to primary

0:19:46 > 0:19:50age children to hear what they think about what has happened, but also to

0:19:50 > 0:19:56build on that.It must be true that children react in different ways and

0:19:56 > 0:20:00you are teaching may be 25 children in a class and some children may be

0:20:00 > 0:20:07do not want to talk about it, they want to escape a bit, some children

0:20:07 > 0:20:13wanted to draw the tower every day. How do you help each child with

0:20:13 > 0:20:17their different responses? Some may be want to hide away and others want

0:20:17 > 0:20:22to really engage.It really is about watching. The curious thing about

0:20:22 > 0:20:24young people is they are very watchful themselves and they are

0:20:24 > 0:20:30looking to see what the adults are making of their behaviours and

0:20:30 > 0:20:33emotional states. Children find it important to draw and talk about the

0:20:33 > 0:20:37things they would like to do when they are older because that would

0:20:37 > 0:20:41help them think about looking after people. Those are important things.

0:20:41 > 0:20:45I thought it was interesting that the teacher acknowledged that

0:20:45 > 0:20:50teachers spend most of their time with these young people, more than

0:20:50 > 0:20:54parents sometimes, and being aware of the difficulties they find

0:20:54 > 0:20:59themselves in is important, but also keeping things going is also

0:20:59 > 0:21:04important.Normality.It is a huge relief for a lot of children who do

0:21:04 > 0:21:09not find themselves in the same situation, we are going to do our

0:21:09 > 0:21:14English lesson today, that gives me structure and comfort. It would be

0:21:14 > 0:21:19quite comforting in and of itself. What is striking, and this is not

0:21:19 > 0:21:24true of all tragedies, is that the tower is there, very much a monument

0:21:24 > 0:21:30as to what has happened, a reminder, what difficulties can that create

0:21:30 > 0:21:33when you are everyday literally walking to school or playing in the

0:21:33 > 0:21:38playground as the teacher said? It is standing there are always

0:21:38 > 0:21:45reminding you.It becomes part of the community presence. I imagine

0:21:45 > 0:21:48for some children there are moments when they forget about what has

0:21:48 > 0:21:53happened for a little bit, but suddenly the reminder is there. That

0:21:53 > 0:21:57is quite tricky. How do you go on? How do you live your life and move

0:21:57 > 0:22:04on and have hope as we heard in that film? That things can change and

0:22:04 > 0:22:07feel a bit better? But also that the community can feel a bit better. I

0:22:07 > 0:22:12am sure a lot of the children are responsive to the fact that the

0:22:12 > 0:22:17community must feel very sad. How do you go about your ordinary, everyday

0:22:17 > 0:22:20business and be happy in the playground and play games with your

0:22:20 > 0:22:24best friend and suddenly be reminded that something truly terrible

0:22:24 > 0:22:31happened? I think it is a really difficult time for a lot of people,

0:22:31 > 0:22:36but you have got to keep sight of the fact that life does move forward

0:22:36 > 0:22:40and children should be allowed to catch themselves being a little bit

0:22:40 > 0:22:42happy and hopeful.Thank you for coming in.

0:22:42 > 0:22:43Thank you for coming in.

0:22:43 > 0:22:46The Prime Minister, Theresa May, arrived in Brussels this afternoon

0:22:46 > 0:22:49for yet another crucial summit, where she's hoping that the other 27

0:22:49 > 0:22:52countries of the EU will decide to move forward to those

0:22:52 > 0:22:56all-important trade talks.

0:22:56 > 0:22:59She admitted she was disappointed by last night's House

0:22:59 > 0:23:02of Commons defeat, but insisted that the necessary legislation

0:23:02 > 0:23:06is making "good progress".

0:23:06 > 0:23:13Our Political Editor, Nick Watt, is there.

0:23:13 > 0:23:18Nick, how was the atmosphere today with the EU 27? A little bit chilly

0:23:18 > 0:23:24over there there are lots of warm hugs?We had a rare sight this

0:23:24 > 0:23:28evening over dinner with a 28 leaders including Theresa May which

0:23:28 > 0:23:32was a UK Prime Minister being praised by fellow EU leaders. I have

0:23:32 > 0:23:37covered more of these summits than I care to remember and I cannot think

0:23:37 > 0:23:41of a president of having a UK Prime Minister being praised like that.

0:23:41 > 0:23:46Tony Blair, the most pro-EU Prime Minister since Ted Heath, had

0:23:46 > 0:23:53stand-up rows with Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schroeder. What is going

0:23:53 > 0:23:58on? The EU are impressed with Theresa May's message which is she

0:23:58 > 0:24:02was an orderly Brexit, it is a difficult journey, but she praised

0:24:02 > 0:24:07EU leaders for working with her. The other message was she wants in the

0:24:07 > 0:24:12future for the UK and the EU to be close friends and allies. But these

0:24:12 > 0:24:18EU leaders are also making a raw calculation. They believe Theresa

0:24:18 > 0:24:22May is gritty, they quite respect her and they think she would be far

0:24:22 > 0:24:26better than the alternative and that alternative they believed would be

0:24:26 > 0:24:31Boris Johnson. Another point is the vote in parliament last night and

0:24:31 > 0:24:35they have knowledge that and they have said we are negotiating with

0:24:35 > 0:24:40you, Prime Minister, and not your parliament.Any more news on the

0:24:40 > 0:24:44timetable about the all-important transition phase or implementation

0:24:44 > 0:24:49phase, whatever we call it, and the trade talks themselves? The really

0:24:49 > 0:24:54important bit.Well, Theresa May made clear this evening she would

0:24:54 > 0:25:00very much like to move onto the next stage and particular urgency on

0:25:00 > 0:25:04transitional arrangements as the EU calls them. The problem for her is

0:25:04 > 0:25:08the draft Council conclusions are saying in the two-year period the

0:25:08 > 0:25:14entire body of EU law would apply to the UK and any new regulations

0:25:14 > 0:25:18introduced, they were also applied to the UK and the UK would not have

0:25:18 > 0:25:22any votes. That crosses a Boris Johnson red line. On the future

0:25:22 > 0:25:27trade arrangements there will be guidelines published tomorrow and

0:25:27 > 0:25:31the UK is very hopeful that they will be quite vague and that will

0:25:31 > 0:25:35give the Prime Minister Time to talk to a cabinet next week, to talk

0:25:35 > 0:25:39about the future, and not have her padlocks into a definitive EU

0:25:39 > 0:25:42position on that just yet.Nick

0:25:42 > 0:25:50Watt, thank you very much. It is the gift that does not seem to stop

0:25:50 > 0:25:56giving. Bitcoin is a so-called currency created by Bocelli, we are

0:25:56 > 0:26:03not quite sure who. A year ago one bitcoin was worth a measly £5.80.

0:26:03 > 0:26:11Then it rose up and suddenly in the last few months it's spiked up to

0:26:11 > 0:26:16£12,400, something of a one-way bet one might think, despite its extreme

0:26:16 > 0:26:22volatility and links to the criminal underworld. And this week more mania

0:26:22 > 0:26:28as people who want to speculate on the future value were allowed to do

0:26:28 > 0:26:31so on the first regulated platform in Chicago. I spoke to the chief

0:26:31 > 0:26:38executive of the Chicago board options exchange and asked him if

0:26:38 > 0:26:39this was another gamble.

0:26:39 > 0:26:42options exchange and asked him if this was another gamble.

0:26:42 > 0:26:45We're not endorsing bitcoin but what we wanted to do was bring

0:26:45 > 0:26:47transparency to a commodity where there was interest.

0:26:47 > 0:26:49And your only choice before we launched on Sunday

0:26:49 > 0:26:51was to represent that interest on a crypto exchange

0:26:51 > 0:26:53somewhere around the globe, one without the oversight that

0:26:53 > 0:26:55we're used to.

0:26:55 > 0:26:59Reassuring words from Ed Tilly there.

0:26:59 > 0:27:01But on this side of the Atlantic tonight, a warning,

0:27:01 > 0:27:03and a pretty strong one.

0:27:03 > 0:27:06I spoke to Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the

0:27:06 > 0:27:10Financial Conduct Authority, an important regulator.

0:27:10 > 0:27:13I asked him how concerned he is about bitcoin's

0:27:13 > 0:27:18meteoric rise in value.

0:27:18 > 0:27:22It's actually not regulated by us in its bitcoin form.

0:27:22 > 0:27:24Where we come in is where there are instruments that

0:27:24 > 0:27:26are referenced to bitcoin.

0:27:26 > 0:27:28It's a very volatile commodity in terms of its pricing,

0:27:28 > 0:27:32if you look at what's happened this year.

0:27:32 > 0:27:35And I would caution to people, we know relatively little

0:27:35 > 0:27:38about what, in a sense, forms the price of bitcoin.

0:27:38 > 0:27:40It's an odd commodity as well because the eventual

0:27:40 > 0:27:42supply is fixed.

0:27:42 > 0:27:46If you want to invest in bitcoin, be prepared to lose all your money.

0:27:46 > 0:27:48That would be my serious warning.

0:27:48 > 0:27:50What evidence do you have at the FCA about who is

0:27:50 > 0:27:52actually buying bitcoin?

0:27:52 > 0:27:54We don't regulate bitcoin, as such.

0:27:54 > 0:27:56Isn't that the problem, Mr Bailey, that you don't regulate?

0:27:56 > 0:27:59The technology is ahead of you.

0:27:59 > 0:28:01Well, I'll come back to that.

0:28:01 > 0:28:03I think the decision on what we regulate is appropriately

0:28:03 > 0:28:04for government and Parliament.

0:28:04 > 0:28:07And we don't regulate commodities.

0:28:07 > 0:28:11We regulate instruments that are referenced to commodities.

0:28:11 > 0:28:15So if you buy a future or an option, then we do come into the picture.

0:28:15 > 0:28:18But we don't regulate commodities per se.

0:28:18 > 0:28:21And that's clear.

0:28:21 > 0:28:24It would be for Parliament, ultimately, to make that choice

0:28:24 > 0:28:27if it wished to do so.

0:28:27 > 0:28:30I don't press for that, providing people understand very clearly this

0:28:30 > 0:28:33is a very volatile commodity.

0:28:33 > 0:28:36What evidence do you have, or do you have any intelligence,

0:28:36 > 0:28:39on who actually is buying bitcoin itself, rather than the instruments

0:28:39 > 0:28:41referenced to bitcoin?

0:28:41 > 0:28:44Well, we have no evidence, as such, because one of the features

0:28:44 > 0:28:47of bitcoin is the anonymity of who the recorded owners are.

0:28:47 > 0:28:51And that emanates from the technology that supports it.

0:28:51 > 0:28:54You can't go somewhere and look up the record of who owns bitcoin.

0:28:54 > 0:28:57The fact that it's called a currency, the fact

0:28:57 > 0:29:00that there are ATMs, do you think that people actually

0:29:00 > 0:29:03realise that they are not investing in something like the pound

0:29:03 > 0:29:04or the dollar?

0:29:04 > 0:29:06Well, I think there's a risk to that.

0:29:06 > 0:29:09You're right that by adopting the name crypto currency,

0:29:09 > 0:29:12there is a risk that some people regard it as the same

0:29:12 > 0:29:15as what in an economist's world you call a fiat currency.

0:29:15 > 0:29:17A fiat currency is backed by a state.

0:29:17 > 0:29:20That's what keeps the value, preserves the value

0:29:20 > 0:29:22of fiat currency,

0:29:22 > 0:29:24through the actions central banks take.

0:29:24 > 0:29:26Bitcoin is not that.

0:29:26 > 0:29:29It's a commodity, it's not a currency.

0:29:29 > 0:29:32Would it make your regulating of financial stability,

0:29:32 > 0:29:36protecting consumers, easier, if you had more powers in this area?

0:29:36 > 0:29:40I don't think bitcoin is prevalent enough at the moment to be

0:29:40 > 0:29:44a systemic threat in the way that we've experienced obviously

0:29:44 > 0:29:48during the financial crisis other threats.

0:29:48 > 0:29:51It needs watching carefully, but I don't think it's at that point.

0:29:51 > 0:29:54If I thought there was evidence that people are saying,

0:29:54 > 0:29:56"You know what I'm going to put my pension into, Bitcoin",

0:29:56 > 0:29:59I would be very concerned.

0:29:59 > 0:30:02Now, we don't see that at the moment.

0:30:02 > 0:30:05Maybe it's part of the big portfolio, but again, if it is,

0:30:05 > 0:30:07it should be done by people who say,

0:30:07 > 0:30:13"I don't mind losing all the value of that piece".

0:30:13 > 0:30:15Some people might say the technology is leaving the regulators behind,

0:30:15 > 0:30:18that you're racing to catch up and you simply don't understand how

0:30:18 > 0:30:20that market working.

0:30:20 > 0:30:22So there's a whole new technology which is really about the bitcoin

0:30:22 > 0:30:24production and sort of maintenance process.

0:30:24 > 0:30:26Pretty opaque.

0:30:26 > 0:30:29Yeah, I mean they are mined.

0:30:29 > 0:30:33My understanding is I think 21 million can ever be mined,

0:30:33 > 0:30:37and I think possibly something like 17 odd million have been mined.

0:30:37 > 0:30:40So that makes it unusual.

0:30:40 > 0:30:43And we'd like to understand that, so that if it does begin to get

0:30:43 > 0:30:46widely used, we've got greater familiarity with it.

0:30:46 > 0:30:50Andrew Bailey, thank you very much.

0:30:50 > 0:30:52Thank you, Kamal.

0:30:52 > 0:30:55For weeks, the United Nations has been calling on the Syrian

0:30:55 > 0:30:58government to allow those urgently in need of medical help to leave

0:30:58 > 0:31:01the besieged, rebel-held, strategically important enclave

0:31:01 > 0:31:05of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus.

0:31:05 > 0:31:07More than 100 of those needing evacuation are children.

0:31:07 > 0:31:10But so far those calls have fallen on deaf ears and some of those

0:31:10 > 0:31:13waiting to leave have now died.

0:31:13 > 0:31:16Newsnight has been reporting on the situation in Eastern Ghouta,

0:31:16 > 0:31:17which is growing worse by the day.

0:31:17 > 0:31:20Here's Mike Thomson, and a warning there are distressing

0:31:20 > 0:31:25pictures in his piece.

0:31:27 > 0:31:30After four years of siege Eastern Ghouta's health care system

0:31:30 > 0:31:35is close to collapse.

0:31:35 > 0:31:36And it's the young, like eight-year-old Rowan,

0:31:36 > 0:31:42who are suffering the most.

0:31:42 > 0:31:44TRANSLATION:She was born as a perfectly healthy

0:31:44 > 0:31:45child who could walk.

0:31:45 > 0:31:48Suddenly, she complained of eye pain and we rushed her to the doctor.

0:31:48 > 0:31:51Doctors took biopsies from her head and then she fell ill.

0:31:51 > 0:31:57Now she's completely paralysed.

0:31:57 > 0:32:00Little Rowan has kidney failure, subcranial haemorrhaging

0:32:00 > 0:32:03and cirrhosis of the liver.

0:32:03 > 0:32:06Like nearly 12% of other children here she also has

0:32:06 > 0:32:08severe malnutrition.

0:32:08 > 0:32:12Yet treatment is out of reach.

0:32:12 > 0:32:14TRANSLATION:The road was blocked and I could no longer

0:32:14 > 0:32:16provide her with any medical help.

0:32:16 > 0:32:17It all stopped.

0:32:17 > 0:32:18Her medical condition is constantly deteriorating

0:32:18 > 0:32:24and she's going from bad to worse.

0:32:24 > 0:32:27Starved of medicines and equipment doctors in Eastern Ghouta can't

0:32:27 > 0:32:31treat complex cases.

0:32:31 > 0:32:38Yet such care is available, just a stone's throw away.

0:32:38 > 0:32:39TRANSLATION:We need immediate evacuation.

0:32:39 > 0:32:4215 people have died and more are dying on a daily basis.

0:32:42 > 0:32:44People have tumours, heart deformities and others

0:32:44 > 0:32:46requiring surgery.

0:32:46 > 0:32:49Their lives could have been saved had they been given medical help.

0:32:49 > 0:32:52We only ask for safe passage to treat them in Damascus,

0:32:52 > 0:32:54which is only a few miles away.

0:32:54 > 0:32:59Rama has a very serious condition - she's unlikely to survive for much

0:32:59 > 0:33:04longer but if we had more medical supplies, drips and pain

0:33:04 > 0:33:12killers, we could at least alleviate her pain.

0:33:12 > 0:33:15Four year-old Rama has cancer of the throat.

0:33:15 > 0:33:16Her desperate mother knows that evacuation

0:33:16 > 0:33:19is her daughter's only hope.

0:33:19 > 0:33:25Yet the Syrian government still refuses to allow it.

0:33:25 > 0:33:27TRANSLATION:I plead with all humanitarian organisations

0:33:27 > 0:33:30and the entire world,

0:33:30 > 0:33:32and anyone who's listening to us for help.

0:33:32 > 0:33:34Help Rama by either allowing us safe passage to Damascus

0:33:34 > 0:33:42or by letting medical aid in.

0:33:42 > 0:33:45Some in Eastern Ghouta blame the outside world for not putting

0:33:45 > 0:33:49enough pressure on the Syrian government, saying organisations

0:33:49 > 0:33:59like the UN are more talk than action, an allegation

0:34:00 > 0:34:02that the UN children's charity, UNICEF, strongly refutes.

0:34:02 > 0:34:05We are lobbying very heavily on the ground on all sides.

0:34:05 > 0:34:08We talk to all parties in order to get access, and

0:34:08 > 0:34:09we are preparing.

0:34:09 > 0:34:11We have the materials there, in order to be to

0:34:11 > 0:34:13get in and to get these children out.

0:34:13 > 0:34:15But unless we are given humanitarian access, unless all

0:34:15 > 0:34:20sides give us a corridor, it's going to very difficult for us.

0:34:20 > 0:34:25The lives of 137 severely injured or ill children,

0:34:25 > 0:34:30as well as more than 400 adults, continue to hang in the balance

0:34:30 > 0:34:34as they wait, so far in vain, for evacuation.

0:34:34 > 0:34:42And as the bombardments continue, their numbers look likely to grow.

0:34:42 > 0:34:4612-year-old Mukdeen was leaving his school when a mortar struck,

0:34:46 > 0:34:49throwing him to the ground.

0:34:49 > 0:34:53Several of his friends were killed and many more injured.

0:34:53 > 0:34:59Young Galeb survived, but only just.

0:34:59 > 0:35:01Today's peace talks in Geneva haven't helped morale.

0:35:01 > 0:35:06They ended in failure.

0:35:06 > 0:35:09Leaving the lives of those urgently needing evacuation

0:35:09 > 0:35:18in continuing, agonising limbo.

0:35:18 > 0:35:20Yesterday an Evening Standard journalist contacted gal-dem,

0:35:20 > 0:35:23an online magazine for black and Asian women, to ask for help

0:35:23 > 0:35:29on writing an article about how to have a "woke" Christmas.

0:35:29 > 0:35:31The word "woke" originates from African American

0:35:31 > 0:35:34activist communities and the Oxford English Dictionary

0:35:34 > 0:35:36defines it as "alert to racial or social

0:35:36 > 0:35:40discrimination and injustice".

0:35:40 > 0:35:42The magazine called the Evening Standard's request

0:35:42 > 0:35:45"a classic case of women of colour being asked to provide their input

0:35:45 > 0:35:49and knowledge for free".

0:35:49 > 0:35:51But does this argument mean journalists should be stopped

0:35:51 > 0:35:55from asking questions from specific groups of people?

0:35:55 > 0:35:57And should any form of knowledge be considered intellectual property

0:35:57 > 0:36:01that one group owns?

0:36:01 > 0:36:03Joining me now are Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff,

0:36:03 > 0:36:06deputy editor of gal-dem, and Kenan Malik, contributing

0:36:06 > 0:36:13opinion editor at the International New York Times.

0:36:13 > 0:36:23Welcome, both of you. What brought the response when the e-mail arrived

0:36:23 > 0:36:28from the Evening Standard journalist asking about, he wanted to write

0:36:28 > 0:36:34about a woke Christmas? What sparked the anger?The context is that

0:36:34 > 0:36:38gal-dem is an online and print magazine which is hoping to

0:36:38 > 0:36:44challenge the homogenous white media landscape, because we think it's

0:36:44 > 0:36:48important that lots of different voices and narratives are heard. The

0:36:48 > 0:36:54problem with the e-mail is that for the editor in chief, it was a

0:36:54 > 0:37:00tipping point for her. We get asked to do things like this all the time,

0:37:00 > 0:37:05and people use us in a very tokenistic way, as a voice of

0:37:05 > 0:37:11diversity. And I think she just had enough, really. And she was upset

0:37:11 > 0:37:14with the fact that instead of leading the narrative, we were just

0:37:14 > 0:37:20being commentators. We want to be the people running the show, running

0:37:20 > 0:37:28things like Newsnight in future.You are quite welcome to do that! Wasn't

0:37:28 > 0:37:32he just a journalist trying to find things out, which is what

0:37:32 > 0:37:37journalists do?Yes, I appreciate that, but I think you have to look

0:37:37 > 0:37:42at the context in which he was finding it out. This is a white male

0:37:42 > 0:37:47journalist writing about a topic he is not comfortable on. I don't know

0:37:47 > 0:37:50whether he challenged his editors on whether or not he should be writing

0:37:50 > 0:37:54the piece, but a lot of the time people don't. It's important to

0:37:54 > 0:37:59remember sometimes that a writer from gal-dem might be better writing

0:37:59 > 0:38:02on a specific topic than the features writer at the Evening

0:38:02 > 0:38:09Standard.We throw around the words cultural appropriation. Is a

0:38:09 > 0:38:13journalist asking for help from a group of people to write about it

0:38:13 > 0:38:19himself, if he is not of that group, is that cultural appropriation?No.

0:38:19 > 0:38:26And I am not sure that Charlie is saying that. We all get these kind

0:38:26 > 0:38:30of requests, journalists who want to use your knowledge for their ends.

0:38:30 > 0:38:34Sometimes it is a genuine request for information, sometimes lazy

0:38:34 > 0:38:36journalism from people who can't be bothered to do the research

0:38:36 > 0:38:44themselves. It's not necessarily a racial thing. I had a senior BBC

0:38:44 > 0:38:49News journalist, non-white, I will not say more than that, whose

0:38:49 > 0:38:54researcher phoned me and said he is writing a book about

0:38:54 > 0:38:58multiculturalism and once a chapter about Bradford. He doesn't know much

0:38:58 > 0:39:04about the place. Can I interview you to get information? So it is not a

0:39:04 > 0:39:10racial or a cultural issue, it's a question of lazy journalism,

0:39:10 > 0:39:14sometimes unethical journalism.What is cultural appropriation? Is there

0:39:14 > 0:39:19an issue there, which maybe this was not a reflection of, with people

0:39:19 > 0:39:25writing about groups they are not of?I think the problem is to see

0:39:25 > 0:39:28some of these issues as cultural appropriation. Cultural

0:39:28 > 0:39:33appropriation is usually defined as the use of cultural forms from other

0:39:33 > 0:39:40cultures without permission. I think that is problematic the two reasons.

0:39:40 > 0:39:46One, because there is no such as cultural ownership. None of us has

0:39:46 > 0:39:51ownership of particular cultural forms. The second question is, who

0:39:51 > 0:39:54gives permission, who is it that licenses someone from one culture to

0:39:54 > 0:40:01use in whatever way cultural forms from another culture? So the notion

0:40:01 > 0:40:05of cultural appropriation is problematic.You wrote in the

0:40:05 > 0:40:13Guardian that white people should leave writing about issues of being

0:40:13 > 0:40:20woke to black people. Is there a way that non-lack or Asian journalists

0:40:20 > 0:40:26can write about issues that are about black and Asian people?I

0:40:26 > 0:40:29think that might have been the headline, which I didn't write,

0:40:29 > 0:40:35actually. I trust that a lot of journalists out there do their

0:40:35 > 0:40:38research and are well versed in issues around being woke and other

0:40:38 > 0:40:43things. In this specific incident, this journalist did not feel

0:40:43 > 0:40:47comfortable writing on this topic and so should not have been doing

0:40:47 > 0:40:52it, or else why did he reach out to us in the way that he did?Who are

0:40:52 > 0:40:59the gatekeepers of a group's identity and who can write about it?

0:40:59 > 0:41:03People who license themselves to be gatekeepers, who licensed themselves

0:41:03 > 0:41:06to say that certain things are allowed and certain cultural forms

0:41:06 > 0:41:13can be used in certain ways by other people. It is deeply problematic.

0:41:13 > 0:41:15Certain people license themselves to be the arbiter of the good use of

0:41:15 > 0:41:21cultural forms. They then get the power. What is being appropriated is

0:41:21 > 0:41:26not culture but their rights to police cultural forms.Thank you.

0:41:26 > 0:41:27That's all for this evening.

0:41:27 > 0:41:28Kirsty's here tomorrow.

0:41:28 > 0:41:31But before we go, Charlie Chaplin's family have written an open letter

0:41:31 > 0:41:33asking for London's Cinema Museum to be saved.

0:41:33 > 0:41:36It's in the former Lambeth workhouse where the great man once lived.

0:41:36 > 0:41:38They argue that it was an inspiration to his genius.

0:41:38 > 0:41:42And what genius it was.

0:41:42 > 0:41:44Here's his first film appearance as "the little tramp" in 1914.

0:41:44 > 0:41:46Good night.

0:41:48 > 0:41:58MUSIC: The Entertainer by Scott Joplin